Game apparatus



March 30', 1937. A. KLEMIN GAME APPARATUS Filed Dec. 16, 1955 BIQVI INVENTOR. QQW aw ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to game apparatus of thecharacter to which my co-pend-ing patent application Serial No. 746,659 (now Patent No. 2,040,855 dated May 19,. 1936) is directed.

In the above-mentioned application. the game apparatus is illustrated as including a suitable playing field, which is divided into playing areas and background areas (such ascharacterize an ordinary checkerboard), the respective playing areas, which form with eachother diagonal paths along which the game pieces may be progressively advanced, being associated with suitable supports by which a duplicate set of playing pieces may be held in elevated positions with relation to the playing-area-surfaces and with relation to corresponding playing pieces which are adapted to assume their respective positions directly on the playing areas, the playing pieces being slotted so as to permit them to accommodate the shank portions of the respective supports, as when they are positioned on the supports or as when they are positioned directly on the playing areas.

Although game apparatus constructed in. accordance with the particular disclosure of my above-mentioned application have proved. gen-- erally satisfactory, the structural relation between the supports and: the playing pieces has been found to be such as to require careful manipulation of the playing pieces during the progress of the game in order to avoid accidental displace,- ment of the same from their elevated positions on the supports.

Generally speaking, the object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned objection, and to that end it is proposed to employ such a structural relation of the playing pieces to the supports as to permit the playing pieces to be readily moved at will from one play- ,ing position to another during the progress of a game without subjecting the supported playing pieces to the likelihood of being accidentally displaced.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which--- Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a game apparatus embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmental view showing a support in association with a pair of playing pieces, one of which is supported in an elevated position and the other of which is at rest on the playing field; Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 2 and showing the dimensional relation of the upper end of the support to the central aperture and communicating slot of the elevated. playing piece; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and showing the die mensionalrelation of the lower portion of the support to the central aperture and communicating slot of the lower playing piece; Fig. 5 is a bottom View of a playing piece, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken online 6-6 of Fig. 3 and showing so much of the support as is necessary to illustrate the manner in which the playing-piece-receiving flange of the support is accommodated within the cup-like recess of the elevated playing piece.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral Ill indicates a suitable base, carrying thereona superimposed playing field H, which may be of card.- boardor other suitable material, and which is divided into a plurality of playing areas I2 and background areas M. It is to be noted that the playing areas and the background areas are disposed inrows, of which there are eight, when considered from either left to right or vice versa or from top to bottom or vice versa in Fig. 1, the playing areas of any given row being located in that row in positions corresponding to the posi tions of the background areas oi the adjacent row or adjacent rows.

The structural features of the apparatus far described are those of an ordinary checker board with which is associated a plurality of playing-piece supports I5, preferably of metal, which correspond in number to and are centrally located with relation to the playing areas l2. Each of these supports includes a shaft-like stem I6, which is held in a vertical position by embedding its lower end in the base ID or otherwise suitably connecting it thereto. As to the stem it, it is to be noted that its shank portion S and its head portion H are difierently dimensioned transversely, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the head portion presenting a greater cross-sectional area than the shank portion; and it will also be noted that at the juncture of the shank portion and head portion there is provided a relatively narrow playing-piece-receiving or supporting flange ll, which is located a substantial distance from the upper end of the stem l6 and at a somewhat greater distance from the surface of the playing field II.

For use with the apparatus thus far described, there are provided a plurality of playing pieces 18, a full complement of which consists of twentyfour of one color and'a like number of another color. Although these playing pieces may, of course, be of various shapes, they are structurally identical in certain particulars, as will be readily understood when it is taken into account that the body portion 20 of each is provided at its top with a centrally disposed curvilinear boss or lug 2|, the dimensions and curvature of which approximate the dimensions and curvature of a complementary and centrally disposed cup-like recess 22 formed in the body portion of the playing piece. The recess 22 of each playing piece is adapted to receive the boss 2| of each of the other playing pieces, when superimposing one playing piece on another, so that any two playing pieces thusly arranged in a paired relation, as shown at the left in Fig. 1, will lie in close face-to-face contact.

In order that any one of the playing pieces l8 may assume a playing position directly on the playing field I l and corresponding to the position of the lowermost playing piece illustrated in Fig. 2, each playing piece is provided with a radial slot 24, the width of which, except where it is shaped to afford at its entrance end a substantially V-shaped throat 25 to facilitate positioning the playing piece in playing position directly on the field H as shown in Fig. 2, is only very slightly greater than the diameter of the shank portion S of each of the supports IS. The slot 24 of each playing piece l8 terminates at its inner end in an aperture 26, which extends axially through the playing piece and its associated boss 2|. It is to be observed that the aperture 26 of each playing piece I8 is of such a size that it will snugly accommodate the head portion H of any one of the supports l5 and is of such a character that its wall extends uninterruptedly throughout an arc substantially greater than 180, despite the presence of the slot 24 which interrupts the continuity of the aperture wall for only a relatively short arcuate length.

From the foregoing it will be understood that by adopting dimensions of the order of those described in connection with the shank portion S of each support and in connection with the slot 24 of each playing piece [8, the playing pieces may be unobstructedly moved into playing positions directly on the playing field I I, inasmuch as the solts 24 are wide enough to accommodate the shank portions S of the supports l5. It will also be understood from the foregoing that by adopting dimensions of the order of those described in connection with the head portion H of each support and in connection with the aperture 26 of each playing piece [8, the apertures, despite the fact that their walls are interrupted by the presence of the slots 24, enable the playing pieces to be so held in elevated positions on the supports I5 as to insure against their being accidentally displaced either by tipping or by lateral shifting.

Although only one form of the present invention is herein shown and described, it will be understood that various changes may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a game apparatus, playing-piece supporting means including a plurality of shaft-like stems each having a head portion and a shank portion, the head portion presenting a greater cross-sectional dimension than the shank portion, a complement of playing pieces, each having an aperture and a communicating slot, the aperture being of a size adapting it to accommodate both of said stem-portions and the slot being of a width adapting it to accommodate only said shank portion of said stem, and a supporting element carried by each of said stems for maintaining thereon any one of said playing pieces in an elevated playing position.

2. In a game apparatus, playing-piece supporting means including a plurality of shaftlike stems each having a head portion and a shank portion, the head portion presenting a greater cross-sectional dimension than the shank portion, a complement of playing pieces, each having an aperture and a communicating slot, the aperture being of a size adapting it to accommodate both of said stem-portions and the slot being of a width adapting it to accommodate only said shank portion of said stem, and a supporting element carried by each of said stems for maintaining thereon any one of said playing pieces in an elevated playing position, said supporting element presenting a transverse dimension greater than the corresponding dimension of said aperture.

ALEXANDER KLEMIN. 

